Victoria Winters (Dark Shadows zine)

Zine
Title:	Victoria Winters: A Dark Shadows Anthology
Publisher:	Clique Publishing (Manhattan, Kansas)
Editor(s):	Craig Hamrick
Date(s):	1993
Series?:	no
Medium:	print
Genre:	gen, character studies
Fandom:	Dark Shadows
Language:	English
External Links:
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Front cover of the zine's 3rd printing; spiral bound, 70 pages.

Victoria Winters is a 70-page Dark Shadows anthology edited by Craig Hamrick.

It features short stories, articles, and artwork focusing on Collinwood's naive governess, Victoria Winters. Contributors include May Sutherland, Connie Jonas, Anna H. Shock, Emily Klaczak, Jeff Thompson, Dan Deminian, Dan Silvio, Marcy Wilson and Sherlock.

Contents

Contents include:

• Coming Home by Connie Jonas
• Farewell by Anna H. Shock
• The Secret of Victoria Winters by Craig Hamrick, story by Dan "Marilyn" Ross

Editor's Comments

Craig Hamrick wrote on his Victoria Winters fansite circa 1999:

In 1992, I decided to ask several fans with a penchant for writing to create new short stories for an anthology I was planning, called "Victoria Winters" I asked them to addressed the mysteries of Vicki's past. I was very pleased with the outcome, which was released by Clique Publishing the following year: Several fans, including May Sutherland, Connie Jonas, Anna H. Shock, and Emily Klackzak [sic], wrote short stories. Jeff Thompson also wrote a great non-fiction look at how Vicki has been portrayed by the acting troupe The Collinsport Players. Fans Dan Deminian and Dan Silvio dug into their personal collections and provided some rare photos, and Dan Silvio also provided some art he has created featuring Vicki. And last, but certainly not least, artists Marcy Wilson and Sherlock provided cartoons and drawings - many of which had never been published before.

For my own contribution, I decided to go back to the source -- one of the sources, at least. We've heard how Dan Curtis intended to resolve the mystery of Vicki's parentage, but he was not the only person creating official Dark Shadows stories in the 1960s and '70s. Dan Ross, one of the most prolific authors of modern times, wrote a series of 32 Gothic novels based on the show. As on TV, Vicki was the first focus character of the novels, and she was searching for her parents. Unfortunately, also like TV's Vicki, the young woman featured in the novels suddenly disappeared without finding the truth.

In 1992, I asked Mr. Ross if he had considered resolving the mystery in his books. I was happy to learn that, in fact, he had. And although the story was never published, he had a concept which he wanted to base a book on. The editors of the book series asked him to abandon Vicki, however, and concentrate on the immensely popular characters of Barnabas and Quentin.

He told me his detailed story idea, and said, "This element of Dark Shadows was entirely my own, and I would have written it into the series, but the editors preferred that I drop this thread and concentrate on Barnabas, Quentin, etc. I think it was a mistake. This could have made an excellent yarn."

With Mr. Ross's permission, I took his story and expanded it to an outline of a novel, which I may someday write. In the meantime, I wrote a shorter version to be included in "Victoria Winters." Mr. Ross approved it and said he hoped the fans would enjoy this look at what might have been.